The present invention relates to a means of automatically loading and unloading a pump cassette or other fluid delivery device into a medical pump.
Modern medical care often involves the use of medical pump devices to deliver fluids and/or fluid medicine to patients. Medical pumps permit the controlled delivery of fluids to a patient, and such pumps have largely replaced gravity flow systems, primarily due to the pump's much greater accuracy in delivery rates and dosages, and due to the possibility for flexible yet controlled delivery schedules. Of the modern medical pumps, those incorporating a diaphragm cassette are often preferred because they provide more accurately controlled rate and volume than do other types of pumps.
A typical positive displacement pump system includes a pump device driver and a fluid delivery device, including but not limited to a syringe, tubing, section of tubing, or a disposable cassette. The disposable cassette, which is adapted to be used only for a single patient and for one fluid delivery cycle, is typically a small plastic unit having an inlet and an outlet respectively connected through flexible tubing to a fluid supply container and to the patient receiving the fluid. The cassette includes a pumping chamber, with the flow of fluid through the chamber being controlled by a plunger or plunger activated in a controlled manner by the device driver.
One of the requirements for many pumps, including cassette pumps, is that they are able to dictate the proper positioning of the fluid delivery device or cassette when loaded. The proper positioning of the cassette is critical to ensure that any pump elements (including the plunger and/or sensors) that interact with the cassette are precisely aligned and positioned to accurately produce the desired output of the cassette or sense conditions related to the pump.
Previous pumps attempted to accomplish the proper positioning of the cassette by providing a molded seat that a user would manually push the cassette into. Once the cassette is forced into the molded seat, retentive snap elements engage the outer surface of the cassette to hold the cassette within the molded seat.
These previous pumps often have few if any physical elements to ensure proper cassette orientation to the pump. They also do not ensure proper and complete seating of the cassette to the pump. Additionally, they have insufficient means for monitoring if the cassette was indeed oriented correctly and/or fully seated to the pump.
Therefore, a principal object of this invention is to provide a medical pump having an automated loading system with improved positioning of the fluid delivery device.
A further object of the invention is to provide a medical pump that monitors proper fluid delivery device loading.
Another object of the invention is to provide a medical pump having an indicator window for indicating channel conditions.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a medical pump having an illumination element for illuminating a main carriage area where the fluid delivery device is loaded.
Another object of the invention is to provide a medical pump having a manual release element for manually ejecting a fluid delivery device from the pump.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.